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#1
General Highway Talk / Re: Road-related pet peeves
Last post by Quillz - Today at 04:26:27 AMQuote from: mgk920 on August 02, 2024, 04:24:44 PMI don't know if this is only a common thing around here, but when I am out walking and just somewhat *near* a crosswalk and everyone stops for me, even though I am making no motions towards crossing the street. It is annoying and a traffic delay. ('misplaced courtesy'?)Same thing happens with me. I guess it's good, I'd rather they stop than ignore me and zoom by (which has happened). I just kind of stay towards the back of the sidewalk and I think people get the idea I'm not crossing.
Mike
#2
General Highway Talk / Re: Directional street grids w...
Last post by Quillz - Today at 03:20:56 AMI've noticed a lot of small towns in Oregon will do this. I vacation in Newport and the 20/101 junction is the zero point. So you'll have "W Olive Street" and "E Olive Street," and then "N Coast Highway" and "S Coast Highway." Then everything else follows intermediary directions. (So you'll have NW 2nd Street, NE 2nd Street, SW 2nd Street, SE 2nd Street). I found this confusing at first because when I'd look up directions, I kept omitting the direction not realizing that is literally part of the street name.
#3
Mid-South / Re: TxTag toll processing to b...
Last post by ElishaGOtis - Today at 02:39:52 AMDoes this eliminate (or make significantly more difficult) pay-by-mail for TxDOT toll roads? As far as I'm aware HCTRA doesn't do traditional pay-by-mail but rather a violation notice scheme at a much higher processing fee...
https://www.txtag.org/txtagstorefront/en/faq/newFeatures
Could/will this also affect SunPass interoperability on the select few TxDOT roads that accept it?
QuoteAfter the planned migration to HCTRA, non-tag customers will receive one bill for travel on TxDOT and HCTRA toll roads in the Austin and Houston regions. This EZ Invoice sent by HCTRA will include only the fees under HCTRA invoicing structure. Note that non-tag customers will have an opportunity to pay tolls online before a first notice (EZ Invoice) is issued.
https://www.txtag.org/txtagstorefront/en/faq/newFeatures
Could/will this also affect SunPass interoperability on the select few TxDOT roads that accept it?
#4
General Highway Talk / Re: Route Numbering Coincidenc...
Last post by Quillz - Today at 02:12:03 AMCA-139 crosses into Oregon and continues as OR-39. I always wondered if CA-139 was deliberately numbered this way.
However, what I find strange is California already had a history of shuffling around numbers to maintain border consistency. For example, original CA-28 was renumbered to CA-128 so the highway along the north shore of Lake Tahoe could be CA-28 and continue onward as NV-28.
If the intent was to create something similar, then I'm not sure why the original CA-39 (which still exists) wasn't renumbered to CA-139 and then the Susanville-to-Oregon highway wasn't the new CA-39. The fact this didn't happen leads me to believe this is in fact just a happy coincidence. (And much later, CA-168 was truncated just west of Nevada so CA-266 could connect to NV-266 instead).
On US-101, exit 27 is with CA-27. Exit 769 is with CA-169.
CA-197 is just west of US-199, and starting from the coast, you get: 101, 197, 199. This again is likely just a coincidence but it kind of slots in nicely.
However, what I find strange is California already had a history of shuffling around numbers to maintain border consistency. For example, original CA-28 was renumbered to CA-128 so the highway along the north shore of Lake Tahoe could be CA-28 and continue onward as NV-28.
If the intent was to create something similar, then I'm not sure why the original CA-39 (which still exists) wasn't renumbered to CA-139 and then the Susanville-to-Oregon highway wasn't the new CA-39. The fact this didn't happen leads me to believe this is in fact just a happy coincidence. (And much later, CA-168 was truncated just west of Nevada so CA-266 could connect to NV-266 instead).
On US-101, exit 27 is with CA-27. Exit 769 is with CA-169.
CA-197 is just west of US-199, and starting from the coast, you get: 101, 197, 199. This again is likely just a coincidence but it kind of slots in nicely.
#5
Road Trips / Re: What road did you leave on...
Last post by Quillz - Today at 02:00:12 AMLeft California on US-50.
Returned to California on US-395.
Left California again on US-97.
Returned to California again on I-5.
Returned to California on US-395.
Left California again on US-97.
Returned to California again on I-5.
#6
Road Trips / Re: 2024 Road Trip Plans
Last post by Quillz - Today at 01:55:39 AMJust got back from my two-week trip!
Week 1:
Second night was from Fresno to Susanville. (As I was spending the first week in the Lassen area).
Week 2:
Susanville to Arcata as I would spending time in redwoods. The logical thing would have just been CA-36 to the coast and then US-101 north. But since I'm not that logical, I wanted to visit Crater Lake.
Took some day trips up to Crescent City since they have a great beach and Jed Smith is one of the best state parks as far as the redwoods are concerned. Did some new trails I haven't done before.
Yesterday was Arcata to Monterey*, took US-101 down to CA-1, took that as far as the Russian River/CA-116, looped back to US-101. Then after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, took CA-1 to CA-35 and did the entire Skyline Boulevard. Like CA-4, did not know CA-35 has a significant one-lane segment. Finally CA-17 back to CA-1 and my hotel.
*Oh, except the hotel decided to cancel my reservation I made months ago and didn't tell me until I showed up after five straight hours of driving. Something about my credit card being declined (a complete lie, my card works fine and I didn't get any attempted charges on it or fraud calls). I didn't hear the phone ring because when I'm driving CarPlay puts on the Do Not Disturb focus. So it was really great to show up after midnight, find out I don't have a hotel room I reserved for months, and being told "sorry, guess you're out of luck." Didn't find another room until nearly 3 AM down in Soledad, and it cost $200. (Whereas my reserved room was just $70, and now I think I know why my card that I was using all week suddenly had issues). And I'm really pissed because I've stayed there many times, have at least 2-3 cards on file with them. And the number they called me from was flagged as a spam number based in Indiana.
Week 1:
- Started in the SF Valley. (CA-27 to CA-118)
- Went into the Mojave Desert. (I-405 to I-5 to CA-14 to US-395).
- Crested the Sierra (first time) at Sherman Pass.
- Spent the first night in Fresno but got there via CA-190, Yokul Drive, CA-198, CA-245, CA-180. (I was deliberately taking scenic routes and trying to follow the Sierra as much as possible).
Second night was from Fresno to Susanville. (As I was spending the first week in the Lassen area).
- CA-41 to CA-49.
- CA-49 to CA-4. This was new, I have never been on this route before so I crested the Sierra (second time) at Ebbets Pass. I read it was one-lane, was not expecting a large portion of the route to be one-lane. And of course I was dealing with opposing traffic and cyclists, so took me a long time.
- After that, easy drive: CA-89 to US-50 in South Lake Tahoe to US-395 in Carson City. Then a straight shot through Reno and on to Susanville.
Week 2:
Susanville to Arcata as I would spending time in redwoods. The logical thing would have just been CA-36 to the coast and then US-101 north. But since I'm not that logical, I wanted to visit Crater Lake.
- CA-36 to CA-44 to CA-89. This is a great drive for those who haven't done it, it's part of the Volcanic Scenic Legacy Byway and you get great views of Lassen and Shasta.
- CA-89 to I-5 to US-97. Short drive but offers more good views of Shasta, and you get to visit Weed, CA and tell everyone how much you love weed.
- US-97 up to Klamath Falls, then OR-62 to Crater Lake. (BTW I would end up clinching the entirety of OR-62). I haven't been to Crater Lake in nearly 20 years so visiting it again was amazing. Was there until sunset, could just barely make out Shasta which I think is more than 100 miles south at that point.
- OR-62 to I-5 to CA-96. Clinched the entire route, then finally CA-299 and my hotel is literally right off the freeway portion. Second time I've clinched the entirety of CA-96 (somewhat famous for having many alleged Bigfoot sightings in the area). Always a nice drive along the Klamath River.
Took some day trips up to Crescent City since they have a great beach and Jed Smith is one of the best state parks as far as the redwoods are concerned. Did some new trails I haven't done before.
Yesterday was Arcata to Monterey*, took US-101 down to CA-1, took that as far as the Russian River/CA-116, looped back to US-101. Then after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, took CA-1 to CA-35 and did the entire Skyline Boulevard. Like CA-4, did not know CA-35 has a significant one-lane segment. Finally CA-17 back to CA-1 and my hotel.
*Oh, except the hotel decided to cancel my reservation I made months ago and didn't tell me until I showed up after five straight hours of driving. Something about my credit card being declined (a complete lie, my card works fine and I didn't get any attempted charges on it or fraud calls). I didn't hear the phone ring because when I'm driving CarPlay puts on the Do Not Disturb focus. So it was really great to show up after midnight, find out I don't have a hotel room I reserved for months, and being told "sorry, guess you're out of luck." Didn't find another room until nearly 3 AM down in Soledad, and it cost $200. (Whereas my reserved room was just $70, and now I think I know why my card that I was using all week suddenly had issues). And I'm really pissed because I've stayed there many times, have at least 2-3 cards on file with them. And the number they called me from was flagged as a spam number based in Indiana.
#7
Off-Topic / Re: Anyone remember the AAA To...
Last post by rschen7754 - Today at 01:50:21 AMThere are no more paper ones, it is all digital. https://tourbook.aaa.com/
#8
Off-Topic / Anyone remember the AAA TourBo...
Last post by KCRoadFan - Today at 01:17:47 AMI believe they do still make those, although they've been made largely redundant in the age of smartphones. Anyway, when I was growing up, back in the early-to-mid-aughts, we had a bunch of TourBooks, and I absolutely LOVED looking through them as a kid! There's just something I enjoyed about reading the hotel listings and all the detail they went into, down to the number of rooms and floors in the building. I especially loved reading through the sections corresponding to big cities like Chicago and New York, as well as major tourist/resort areas such as Orlando; those sections, as I recall, had lots of ads posted for many of the listed hotels, as well as accompanying maps of the area with each property marked with a number in a black oval, along with a list of the mapped properties. I loved looking at those, and in an era before Street View was even an idea, I felt that flipping through those TourBooks brought places closer to me in a way that no other medium could (well, aside from actual pictures of the place, that is).
I wonder: does anyone else here have fond memories of reading AAA TourBooks - either when planning an upcoming trip, or just paging through them for fun or to make themselves think of taking a trip? I'm sure there's at least a handful of people here who remember TourBooks like I did, or something close to that feeling.
I wonder: does anyone else here have fond memories of reading AAA TourBooks - either when planning an upcoming trip, or just paging through them for fun or to make themselves think of taking a trip? I'm sure there's at least a handful of people here who remember TourBooks like I did, or something close to that feeling.
#9
Photos, Videos, and More / Re: Best of Road Pictures
Last post by pderocco - Today at 01:08:19 AMI don't take many road pictures--in my explorations I usually find the scenery more interesting that the roads--but there are exceptions. I thought I'd put up a couple of pictures I shot at different times along Washington route 14 in the eastern part of the Columbia River Gorge. I've seen both these scenes in several car commercials, and recognized them immediately since I used to live in the PacNW.
The first one is called the Coyote Wall, one of the most dramatic geological structures you'll see in the Gorge:
The second is a shot taken from Old Highway 8 looking down on route 14:
This route has a complicated history. It was signed as US-830 (the highest numbered US route ever, apparently) from 1926, although it was originally aligned along what was also called state route 8 (a few bits of which still exist as "Old Highway 8"), and then was realigned along the water, often on causeways similar to the ones built by the railroad, forming artificial lakes along the river. In the 1950s, US-197 signs were added to the easternmost part, but finally in the 1960s, US-830 was decommissioned and US-197 was cut back to Dallesport, and the modern road was assigned to route 14.
The first one is called the Coyote Wall, one of the most dramatic geological structures you'll see in the Gorge:
The second is a shot taken from Old Highway 8 looking down on route 14:
This route has a complicated history. It was signed as US-830 (the highest numbered US route ever, apparently) from 1926, although it was originally aligned along what was also called state route 8 (a few bits of which still exist as "Old Highway 8"), and then was realigned along the water, often on causeways similar to the ones built by the railroad, forming artificial lakes along the river. In the 1950s, US-197 signs were added to the easternmost part, but finally in the 1960s, US-830 was decommissioned and US-197 was cut back to Dallesport, and the modern road was assigned to route 14.
#10
Traffic Control / Re: Sign Borders
Last post by Scott5114 - Today at 12:58:32 AMQuote from: Bobby5280 on October 11, 2024, 01:39:25 PMI don't like how those arrows look in the sign example posted above. They look like they've been artificially squeezed to some degree.
Those are standard arrows for Nebraska.